About Go Multi

A selection of some of the final issue covers of Go Multi in 2012 and 2013.

Welcome!

For 10 years, Go Multi was a multisport/fitness/outdoor adventure print magazine with a website – this website – that showcased some of its previous articles.

Times change. We decided that the fitness industry was growing up, and the advertisers, especially those in the cycling space, were finding it increasingly difficult to place material in five or more print titles. When the pie gets smaller, the flavour intensifies and that’s what they were doing too – focusing on titles that were cycling-specific.

At the beginning of December 2013 we decided that it was time to change the business model.

Where you’re at right now is where we’re at right now – this website.

Through this site, our aim is to help you the fitness/wellness/adventure enthusiast maintain the impetus and energy that drew you to choosing a healthier, fitter, fuller and more satisfying life.

And if you’re still on that path and new to this ‘fitness lifestyle stuff’, our desire is to save you a lot of costly mistakes and wasted time.

We want to help you grow your fitness and health fast, with progressive articles and insights that other magazines may not be offering. Think the latest findings on nutrition, on training methods – on living your life better!

That’s what we strive for in our lives everyday and we want to share all this amazing information with you!

The people who read Go Multi are typically attracted to exercise, health and adventure. They believe in self-improvement and are not afraid of failure. They demand nothing less than being fit at all times (even in Winter!).

They spend a lot of their leisure time outdoors, often travelling to exciting places and challenging themselves with epic tests of endurance and character. Quality in the products they choose to purchase – after thoughtful consideration – is important to Go Multi readers. Our editorial places great emphasis on honest appraisals and telling our readers about the best products, events and experiences – as well as some of those to avoid.

About Go Multi

If you’re new to all this, before we suggest that you ‘Go Multi’, you’re probably going to ask: “What the heck is going multi anyway?”

Great question!

That is when you do at least two physical activities that train your cardiovascular, muscular and nervous system. You don’t need to do triathlons or even do back-to-back disciplines to be ‘going’ multi. As soon as you start doing a second sport, you’re a multisporter. It doesn’t have to be on the same day; so long as you are working at different activities.

If you swim and walk, that’s going multi.

If you mountain bike and paddle, that’s going multi.

Time for another definition: Endurancesport.

This is any activity where distance, terrain and time are your chief challenges, and you have to use muscle power to move from start to finish.

For the racing snakes, for an endurance sport race to be classified as an endurance event, we expect that the event must be timed and allow individuals or teams to race others over a fixed distance. Based on that quick definition, surfing, hang-gliding, chess and water hockey are not classed as endurance sports!

We do feature some of the fringe sports from time to time, but only as an interest piece for you to know about.

At the end of the day, endurance sport is not about racing for medals, glory or money. Arguably 99% of participants do it for just one reason – because it’s there, because it’s fun and healthy and because it makes them feel good and adds meaning to their lives.

So, you’re probably already a true multi-sport warrior, fighting your own daily battles against warm duvets, little red men with tails on your shoulder telling you it’s OK to be a couch potato, never mind fulfilling the challenges of family commitments and work.

So congrats, you’re probably already part of the Go Multi tribe. Welcome to our family!

Our mission statement

Life’s too short for one sportguides everything we think, say and do at the magazine.

As a magazine, our business goal is to be an innovative, progressive media company that creates inspiration for our readers and future readers who are yet to discover the life-changing benefits of effective cross-training.

Our simple, six word call to action brings together the ideals of fitness, health, body-mind awareness and the principle of constant improvement, all while having fun in the outdoors through adventure racing, canoeing, cycling, mountain biking, running, swimming, surfski and triathlon. There’s only one thing to do if you’re in a one-dimensional rut and that is to Go Multi.

Wouldn’t you like to join the multisport movement today? All it takes is a decision to add one activity to the one you do now and alternate them.

How Should I Go Multi?

We know the pressure… South Africans love tackling endurance sports and it’s become somewhat of an obsession for some. The Argus, Cape Epic, Comrades, Dusi, and Midmar Mile are five world-renowned events that spring to mind, but there are many more rising to prominence, especially in the multisport arena. We at Go Multi love the challenge of events like these, and our readership know it.

It’s clear to see that we’re one of many worldwide tapping into this frequency. The Go Multi tribe is made from people like you, doing their best to escape single sport ruts. Isn’t it true that a car’s got several gears, and so has a bicycle? There’s a trend here… you’re getting with the programme already!

Our suggestion if you’re still struggling with the gravity field of the single sport that is now threatening to take over your life and drive you out of your mind?

Find another sport, maybe two! Start at the bottom of the pile all over. Become a complete and utterly clueless novice again. Leave the comfort of knowing what you’re doing. Feel the excitement as you face the unknown again.

So you’ve done 30 Argus Tours? Nice, but have you stood on a beach facing 2-metre swells wondering how you’re going to make it to backline in your surfski? How about feeling your stomach leap up as you pull off your first mountain bike drop-off? How about the sense of accomplishment when you finish your very first open-water swim in your very first triathlon?

“Life’s too short for one sport”

Go Multi Magazine’s call to action brings together the ideals of fitness, health, body-mind awareness and the principle of constant improvement, all while having fun in the outdoors through adventure racing, canoeing, cycling, mountain biking, running, swimming, surfski and triathlon. There’s only one thing to do if you’re in a one-dimensional rut and that is to Go Multi!

It’s no coincidence.

In March 2003, we chose the name of our new magazine Go Multi purposefully, as a call to action. It’s a battle cry for people of all abilities to get off the couch, get onto their feet, bikes and boats and experience more in life. Go Multi is quite simply combining cardiovascular sports to enhance the experience of living.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that unless you’re after Olympic gold in a single sport, the smart money is on doing smaller bits of several sports rather than an overdoes of one sport over and over again.

Let’s face it… We weren’t designed to do one thing over and over again. You might get a kick from doing more than just running, swimming or cycling all your life. My name is Deon Braun and I’ve published Go Multi magazine since 2003. Everything I have read, experienced and heard about leads me to believe that living the multisport lifestyle is the best, most healthy and natural way to live one’s life.

Apart from the physical benefits, it also revitalises our minds and helps us put things like the Big Questions into perspective. Go for a run after a rough day at the office and you’ll see what I mean.

Once a print magazine and now purely a website, we continue to connect the multisport community throughout South Africa by covering events and people in the personal style that is the hallmark of Go Multi.

Why advertise on this site?

With a focus on marrying information with entertainment, we connect the multisport community throughout South Africa by covering events and people in the personal style that is the hallmark of Go Multi.

Since 2003 this has proved to be a winning mix because the sports featured have unlimited crossover appeal. Approximately 80% of our advertising clients are repeat business.

All the sports featured develop your fitness and your capacity for personal growth.

Combined, these sports are able to enhance your life through physical, mental and other immeasurable factors that some may call spiritual or holistic.

One of our goals is to showcase the’ adventurous spirits of people in multisport.

Beyond definitions, beyond categories… Life’s too short for one sport!